Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Poppy.
A shudder went through me, and then I went completely still, but only on the outside. What was inside was moving, churning, and twisting. Anger and grief crashed together over and over, mixing with the essence—with guilt. And there was so much of it. Pressure built, straining at my flesh. My entire body shook, and my jaw tightened as I tried to hold it in, to stop myself from letting it out. To keep from screaming. From snapping and tearing the realm apart.
But there was no stopping it.
Not the scream. Not the lashing out. Not the rage, sorrow, guilt, and all that power whirling through me. It crashed together, and there was no holding it in.
Throwing my head back, I roared, the sound deep and guttural. The moment it hit the air, it destroyed. Everything around me warped and recoiled as if the very realm itself sought to get away, but there was no escape.
Not for me.
Not from me.
The power within me exploded in an icy, devastating wave. The remaining walls of Seacliffe Manor, the floors, the many rooms, the gods who’d just arrived, and the Ascended who moved belowground, were simply gone in an instant.
All of it.
Disintegrated.
The rolling blast swept out with brutal, crushing force, stretching beyond where Seacliffe had once stood. The air distorted as the power spread down the bluff. Ships cracked, then shattered. Trees ignited and burned with an unholy intensity, leaving nothing but smoking embers within seconds. Roofs blew off and broke apart into tiny shards. Walls crumbled to ash. Street after street, throughout the entirety of Pensdurth, anything standing was leveled. Turned to dust.
The burst of power washed over the Rise, finding the many cracks and fissures that had appeared when the earth shook. The essence took the great wall down from within, every block stacked upon one another, disintegrating.
All that rage, grief, guilt, it all consumed me until there was nothing left but the ruin I unleashed and the wrath that followed.
BROTHERS
Poppy
I found myself standing among a cluster of pines.
I didn’t know how I got there. The last thing I remembered was…
Pain.
I remembered deep, tearing pain in my throat that tugged at my chest, and the burning, stinging agony all along my skin. But I didn’t feel any pain now. Toes curling against the damp moss and grass, I lifted my hand to my neck. The skin there felt smooth, but I had the sense that it had not been, and what tasted like bitter, acidic shame crawled up my throat.
I didn’t want to remember what had come before.
Exhaling slowly, I lowered my hand and looked around as birds sang, filling the air with high-pitched chirps and sharp, trilling calls. My eyes snagged on a flash of red beyond a curtain of needled branches. Curious, I walked forward, the thick moss feeling like lush carpet beneath my feet.
A warm breeze lifted the strands of my hair as I stepped out of the tall, sweeping pines and into a sun-drenched meadow, carrying the scents of fresh soil and rain. The flash of red turned out to be bright, vibrant red wildflowers.
Fingers grazing the soft petals, I passed rocks smothered in clinging ivy. My steps slowed as I came to the edge of a craggy hill along a cliff and looked down. There was so much color. Blooms of pink and white flowers mingled with clusters of lilac and yarrow spilled down the hill to a village below, where the rising sun cast shadows over shaggy, golden-brown thatched roofs and cobblestone paths.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen this place before, and I had no idea how I’d gotten here.
That should have probably concerned me, but here, amid the wild beauty, I was warm and at peace. I was okay, and that feeling from before returned, telling me that here was better than wherever I had been.
So, I stayed. I had no idea how long I stood there. It could’ve been minutes, hours, or lifetimes. I just basked in the warmth of the sunlight, head tilted back and eyes closed, feeling the breeze on my skin as I listened to the birds.
I couldn’t remember when I’d last done something like this, but I knew it had been forever. That I should’ve done it more—
The breeze shifted without warning, sending a chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature. My skin pimpled as I turned slightly, already knowing I was no longer alone.
A dark-haired young man towered slightly over me, his attention fixed on the village below.
Startled, I took a step back as I stared at him. There was something unnervingly familiar about his profile, the strong curve of his jaw and broad cheekbones. Something that caused my stomach to churn.
I started to speak, but no words came out. He hadn’t looked at me and seemed to be completely unaware of my presence. I leaned forward, my eyes scanning his golden-bronze features. Why did he look so familiar?